


Sweet Remnants

by itbeajen



Series: 25 Days of Christmas - 2017 [11]
Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Genre: 25 Days of Christmas 2017, F/M, Fluff, In a sense, Reincarnation, soulmate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-12
Updated: 2017-12-12
Packaged: 2019-02-13 18:05:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12989577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itbeajen/pseuds/itbeajen
Summary: Red - a color of love, life, and him.Lukas always stood out in your life, and it appears that even after the first time you guys have met in a prior life, fate refuses to let him leave your sight yet again.





	Sweet Remnants

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem or any of the characters that are mentioned. I am not making any profit from this fic and I write purely for the love of the characters. Fire Emblem is the property of Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

**i. familiarity**

When he first walked in, you had to hold your breath to prevent yourself from losing it completely. He looked far too similar to that man in your dreams. So similar to the man that you had fallen in love with before in a previous life. The one who you spent an entire separate life with. Or at least, would have spent an entire life with.

You could faintly remember the horror on his usual calm demeanor. You could still remember the shock and the anguish in his voice as he had thrown aside his spear and rushed to your side. Even with Faye and Silque by your side, holding you against them as they tried to heal your wounds, you could already feel yourself fading.

“Don’t leave me!”

Oh how his voice was so torn. It was perhaps one of the few moments you’ve ever heard or seen him cry. You can still faintly recall your attempts to reach out for him, but it was too late. In that snowy field, the brilliant splash of red was the last thing you saw.

But here he was, sitting so calmly at the corner of your quaint coffee shop. You knew not his name, nor his occupation, but without fail every Friday he was here. Every Friday he ordered the same drink, a simple black coffee, with a plate of earl grey cookies.

He was still cool and collected, and despite the mishaps your workers occasionally had with his orders, the polite smile on his lips never faded.

Your glances at him were discrete, and almost unnoticeable. But perhaps it was the pull from that past bond, and perhaps it was because when you weren’t looking, he was looking at you too. But when your gazes meet for the first time, you’re not sure if it’s your breath that hitched, or if it was his.

**ii. sparks**

That first encounter lead to many more. Yet no matter how vividly you remembered him from back then, remembered his sweet demeanor and kindness, it felt like they were only remnants of the past.

Was it only you? Were you the only one that could remember? It pained you to think that it was only who could recall those bittersweet moments you once had together. Your heart ached to see him so close to you, yet feel as though he was so far away. There was a life of memories holding you apart from him, and you didn’t know where to start to bridge the gap.

“[Name].”

Though all it took was the gentle calling of your name. It was so familiar, so… nostalgic. Your heart skipped a beat, and you couldn’t help but slowly turn your wandered gaze back to him and he asked, “Are you okay?”

You nod, quickly hiding the negative thoughts in the corner of your mind, and send him a small smile, “Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking about new recipes to try.”

He stifles a chuckle, but softly teased, “You’re hard at work.”

“You say that as though I’m normally not,” you rolled your eyes, and playfully scoffed at him. You pull away from the counter to grab at a few napkins and not too graciously dropped them by his side. There’s confusion written all over his face and you laughed, “You have a little something right here.”

You tapped your cheek mirroring him and it’s perhaps the first time you see the pink blossom over his cheeks and you couldn’t help but hide your smile. It was a great feeling knowing that you were able to elicit such a response from his usual aloof demeanor.

**iii. remnants**

Sometimes you could feel his calm gaze burning holes through you. It was strange, knowing that he was so intrigued with you. Yet it caused a strange fluttering in your heart. In the beginning, you had thought it was the lingering memories of that past where you had found love on the battlefield. But now, after spending months, weeks, and days getting to know him, you couldn’t help but still feel butterflies in your stomach and a surge of affection and adoration for him.

But you couldn’t, not when you were still lingering in the past and he was moving on with his future. You wished you could let go, but perhaps it was too late. Or perhaps, it was fate. You had been the one to leave him first in that past life you shared together. Even though you promise that you would stay with him.

There’s a rush of despair and you find yourself short on breath. But even if he didn’t remember, even if he doesn’t know you like you know him, it’s okay. Because at least you can see him here, alive, safe, and away from harm.

You lean back against the bar counter, facing away from the rather empty coffee shop. And though your breathing is finally even again, the lingering heart ache refuses to go away.

**iv. linger**

Sometimes at the end of a long day, you’d find him waiting til closing. There was always a fond smile on his lips as he asked you how your day has been, or if when he offered to walk you home.

Neither of you are sure where things had started changing. Neither of you are quite sure when it had became natural for the two of you to meet up every weekend and for him to walk you home after work every day.

But you couldn’t help but feel your heart soar and the fluttering intensify just enough- just enough that you could barely handle it, and barely suppress it from overflowing. You could only hope that he felt even a fraction of what you felt towards him.

But unbeknownst to you, even he didn’t know why he was so attracted to you. What was it that had him coming back? What was it that made him gravitate towards you? He doesn’t know, but he does know that whenever he stays near by, he can’t help but linger near you.

**v. snowfall**

Perhaps it was fate that brought the two of you together again. It had been awhile since you’ve last saw him. And honestly, you wouldn’t have been surprised if you didn’t see him again after a while. Lukas so much more successful than you had thought. No, you should have known though with his perseverance and personality that he would get far. But a promotion meant less time spent with you. And although there was nothing between you two, nothing defined, it made you sad to see him less and less.

Despite winter being a time to stay indoors with those you love, you couldn’t help but be thankful for the crowd of people that took shelter in your quaint coffee shop. Many of them were settled happily in the warmth and fragrance of coffee and sweets, but some were still shivering after narrowingly escaping the sudden blizzard. As the crowd increased, you began to offer storage to their heavy winter coats and umbrellas in your small storage room usually reserved for staff only.

But once you settled into the routine again, the familiar chime of the doorbell has you making your way over to greet them, only to be shocked by the splash of red dotted with white patches of snow.

“Welcome to- Oh gods, Lukas! Are you alright?”

You had immediately gone up to him, helping him dust off the snow from his coat as he unwrapped his scarf from his neck to remove the snow off as well. You immediately grabbed the broom, sweeping the snow out the door effectively. Once he removed his heavy winter coat and parka, you bring both of them over to the staff room, hanging it up neatly and quickly tying a small tag with his name on it before rushing back out.

Lukas was situated at the bar counter, his new usual seat that was reserved for quick chats between you and him as he worked on assignments from work. You find that one of your long time employees have already served Lukas a drink, and you quickly make your way to the pastry display to grab a few earl grey cookies before walking over.

“You’re quite busy tonight, aren’t you?” he asked, there was a small laugh accompanying it. You gently slid the cookies over on a neat plate and you responded, “We are.”

There was a quick thank you and you resumed, “How bad was it outside?”

He sighed, and although you thought he’d be more upset, there was a strange glint in his eyes that you haven’t seen before. He slowly took a sip before muttering, “It just picked up again, so I can’t say for how long it’ll be going on for.”

You can feel your expression turning into a frown. It wouldn’t be good for you guys to stay too long, as the snow could pile up and block traffic. But before you’re able to say anything to him, you find yourself being pulled away by the reality of your job. And though you tell him you’ll be back soon, you weren’t too sure you could keep your word on that.

It wasn’t until hours later that the storm had finally died, and along with it, the rush of customers did too. You find yourself finally back behind the counter as you take Lukas’ mug from him an effortlessly refilled it without spilling a drop. His mouth opened to shoot a complaint, but you laughed it off, “Can’t have my favorite customer getting cold on me. Drink up, it’s on the house.”

You’re more than amused by the way his lips tug downward, but even then you can see the gratefulness and playfulness of his demeanor. Before he could lecture you on anything, you quickly added, “It’s not every day that I get to see you now. So can’t you allow me this much?”

But you almost regret it when you could hear how much you missed him from the tone of your voice. It was ridiculous. He doesn’t know what you know. He doesn’t know that you had considered him the most important person in your life. But gods, you missed him. You missed being able to laugh so freely with him. You missed being able to tell him everything and anything, from the trivial conversations about how your day has been to the deep concerns that plagued your thoughts.

You missed him so much.

But he couldn’t know that. Your hand lingered for a moment on the counter, and you almost don’t notice the way his gaze has changed. There’s a spark of revelation in his eyes, but you were already moving to leave. You needed to distract yourself from the sudden overflow of nostalgia and emotions that threatened to take over you. But when you feel his warmth on your hand, you find yourself gazing into those fiery red eyes that burned with an unknown passion.

That was all you needed. Nothing more, nothing less. From the way his eyes resembled the gentle gaze that had once mumbled sweet promises to you, to the way his hand was pressed so gently yet firm over yours, and that gentle mutter of your name that was filled with the same intonations and melodies of the past; he remembered.

There are tears welling at the corners of your eyes, but you can’t fight down the ridiculously happy smile on your face because he remembered. You averted your gaze momentarily, and gently laced your fingers with his, rubbing your thumb against his hand and you whispered, “Thank you, Lukas.”

His eyes widened, and you can tell he wanted to say something to you; he wanted to confirm it was all real. But from the way he couldn’t, all you could was tighten your hold on his hand.

“Thank you for remembering me.”

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't going to write two fics on the same character for this Christmas challenge, but sometimes I forget how popular this ginger stud is. The amount of messages that came in were kind of amazing. Ahaha. So here's the reader's perspective since a lot of people wanted to see it.


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